In addition to my spin shoes, my workout routine has been improved by joining a new soccer team, the Baninjas. Yes, that team name is a cross between “banana” and “ninja,” which obviously translates into some wicked soccer players. I got connected to the team through my college teammate Anne Remy Lundquist. Anne’s younger sister Elizabeth ironically lives about a mile away from me in La Jolla and perhaps even more ironically works in the same office building as I do. Anne and Elizabeth grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, and Elizabeth moved out to La Jolla after a stint in Sweden after graduating from Wake Forest. Kind of random we ended up so close together.
Monday night the Baninjas were 5-3 victors over a team with a much less cool name. However, the six versus six co-ed format in which our team only had one girl sub made me feel like I was about to have a heart attack for about 40 of the 44 minutes of the game. I felt pretty old. I also was reminded how old I am by the nagging quad (almost) pull I had after not playing soccer in a couple of months. Despite feeling quite old, it was great to get out there and play soccer again. I’m excited for the rest of the season, which lasts through early December.
The post-game victory meal brought up a question: have you ever heard of turkey tacos? I had never heard of them but after thinking about it, I guess it’s not that strange – people have turkey burgers instead of hamburgers with ground turkey replacing ground beef, so why not replace the ground beef in tacos with ground turkey and have a turkey taco? Voila – a healthier meal that is also on special every Monday night at Peabody’s, located conveniently up the street from the Mission Valley YMCA. This might have to become my official Monday night tradition: soccer and turkey tacos.
